The main glucocorticoid in humans and other primates is cortisol; the main glucocorticoid in rodents is corticosterone. A missing piece of the puzzle for many clients is understanding the difference between selfishness and self-care. Clinical experience has shown that addicted individuals typically take less than they need, and, as a result, they become exhausted or resentful and turn to their addiction to relax or escape. Part of challenging addictive thinking is to encourage clients to see that they cannot be good to others if they are first not good to themselves. There is one benefit of self-help groups that deserves special attention.

There are many risks to recovery at this stage, including physical cravings, poor self-care, wanting to use just one more time, and struggling with whether one has an addiction. Clients are often eager to make big external changes in early recovery, such as changing jobs or ending a relationship. It is generally felt that big changes should be avoided in the first year until individuals have enough perspective to see their role, if any, in these issues and to not focus entirely on others. They are caused by insufficient coping skills and/or inadequate planning, which are issues that can be fixed [8]. Clients are encouraged to challenge their thinking by looking at past successes and acknowledging the strengths they bring to recovery [8]. This stops clients from making global statements, such as, “This proves I’m a failure.” When individuals take an all-or-nothing, dichotomous view of recovery, they are more likely to feel overwhelmed and abandon long-term goals in favor of short-term relief.

Relapse is a common stumbling block during the recovery process and does not mean that you should give up on becoming sober.

Known as post-acute withdrawal symptoms, these symptoms can return during times of stress. They are dangerous because you may be tempted to self-medicate them with alcohol or drugs. Even after being sober for years, the potential for an alcohol relapse is always possible. However, just because a relapse occurs doesn’t mean someone has failed recovery. Relapse can be part of the recovery process, and it can strengthen someone’s dedication to long-term sobriety if it occurs and is properly handled. An alcoholic relapse or relapse into alcoholism is a return to the compulsive pursuit and consumption of alcohol after a period of sustained sobriety.

As their tension builds, they start to think about using just to escape. During emotional relapse, individuals are not thinking about using. They remember their last relapse and they don’t want to repeat it. But their emotions and behaviors are setting them up for relapse down the road. Because clients are not consciously thinking about using during this stage, denial is a big part of emotional relapse. People in your life who may have contributed to your alcohol use may be a potential trigger for relapse.

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You might begin to practice avoidance or become defensive in situations that call for an honest evaluation of your behavior. A change in attitude can be one of the first warning signs of a relapse. For some reason, you decide that participating in your recovery program is just not as important as it was. You might feel like something is wrong but can’t identify exactly what it is.

It can also be assuring to know that most people have the same problems and need to make similar changes. In the second stage of recovery, the main task is to repair the damage caused by addiction [2]. Clinical experience has shown that this stage Alcohol Relapse usually lasts 2 to 3 years. When feelings of loneliness set in or being socially isolated becomes too much, know that you are never fully alone. There are people that care about you and are eager to help you get through these tough times.